You want what's called a Paint Buddy.

Great - where can I buy that? Home Depot?

If you want to save a little more than the paint buddy holds, I buy smaller paint cans at The Container Store. They have various sizes. Also, HD, Lowes and paint stores sell empty quarts.

I would still put some in an old jar. It might dry out faster in that neat little gizmo. I had quite a collection of colors in mason jars when I left my old house.

Be sure to label the jar. Ask me how I know...! ;-)

I would hold back at least a cup of paint. A baby food jar is too small. A small glass jar with lid is what I would use. Store it upside down.

I use clean spaghetti sauce jars. Just make sure the area where the lid screws on is free of paint -and you shouldn't have any problems. Keep a couple of those small foam brushes handy (small enough to fit in the jar)and you can easily take care of touch-ups.

That Paint Buddy is not for long term storage.

Just use a glass jar. You do not have to buy anything special and makea trip to the store. Make sure the lid has threads to screw it on - not the pickle jar kind of lid. Use Vaseline around the threads. Store upside down. If storing paint jars upside down makes you nervous, place a layer of plastic wrap on top of the paint to prevent a hard layer from forming. Use high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic so the osmosis is slower.

If you put some in an ice cube tray and freeze, then pop them out and put them in a labeled zip lock baggie(LR, DR, etc,) you can pull out a cube at a time and color in any touch up spots like a paint crayon. This works best w/ a lower sheen paint - matte, eggshell, satin.

Oh, well I never heard o' that one except for pesto! In fact, I've always heard one should keep paints from freezing... Lax, can you site your sources? This could be a big breakthrough! :-)

If the Paint Buddy closes up, air tight, why isn't it for long term paint storage? I read about it on Apartment Therapy (it got a design award) a while ago and the reader comments are all positive.

I don't think you can freeze wall paint. It says right on the can DO NOT ALLOW TO FREEZE.

There may be some confusion with the recent fad of using frozen "paint cubes" for children to play with. These are made from tempura paint or food coloring.

------------------

Jeanninepc, thank you for pointing that out. There have been may things similar made for short term storage of paint while doing a room. One was a sponge tip applicator with a screw on end in the handle I bought.

This appears to be a new design made for long term storage and not like the others. There are some bad review on it out there though.

This pic shows it well:

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/05/06/idea2005/source/60.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: Paint Buddy Filled

I just put it in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid. I do use a piece of plastic wrap between the jar and lid...it keeps the rim clean and easy to put back on.

Tempura paint? Sorry dilly dally....just had to giggle at that one! :-) I think you meant tempera....not deep fried shrimp. Ummmm yum!

I bought a box/carton/whatever of pint sized jelly jars. We just finished a half house remodel about a year ago. Each jar is labeled with the color name, the brand name (the painter color matched and used a different brand with some of the colors) and the color code number. I haven't been storing them upside down tho. Guess I should do that??
Monica
ps...I don't know what's up with crazy site lately :o I haven't been able to embed photos the last couple of weeks. Sorry.

Here is a link that might be useful: Paint Storage

I use the little mason jars when I don't have my favorite around. I love using the little bitty oxyclean container. I know it's less economical to purchase oxyclean that way, but washed and dried, they are the perfect size for touch-up paint. I'm always afraid I'll knock the mason jars onto the garage floor!

I have the paint buddy and they work great. I don't use the roller part. When I need to touch up, I just pour some out and use a brush. My touch up paint has been stored in there for 1.5 years, and I just used one to touch up with no problem.

They do seal very tight. They may not be VERY long term, but if you store them correctly, you'll be fine for at least a few years, no doubt.

I agree that mason jars are the way to go for very long term.

Thanks - I will get some mason jars or jelly jars.I will put syran wrap around the lid. Great!!

Turn whatever you decide to use upside down to store. If any air is getting in, the paint will "set" in that place and prevent any air from getting in. I store my paint cans upside down and it works really well. Also, you can probably buy the empty quarts from paint store,